De contributie is weliswaar hoog, maar het tuincomplex is mooi.

Weliswaar ... maar is a formal or slightly bookish way to say admittedly ... but, it is true that ... but, or although ... still.

So:

• De contributie is weliswaar hoog, maar het tuincomplex is mooi.
• The membership fee is admittedly high, but the garden complex is beautiful.

A useful way to remember it:

• weliswaar = conceding something
• maar = introducing the contrasting point

In everyday speech, Dutch speakers often use simpler alternatives such as:

• De contributie is hoog, maar ...
• Hoewel de contributie hoog is, is het tuincomplex mooi.

That is because Dutch main clauses usually follow the verb-second rule: the finite verb comes in the second position.

Here the sentence begins with the subject:

• De contributie = subject
• is = finite verb
• weliswaar hoog = rest of the predicate

So the order is:

• De contributie | is | weliswaar hoog

You cannot normally say:

• De contributie weliswaar is hoog ❌

That sounds wrong in standard Dutch word order.

Not usually in this context. Contributie often means a membership fee, dues, or a regular payment you make to belong to a club, association, or organization.

So here de contributie is probably:

• the membership fee for the garden association
• annual dues
• a regular club payment

A direct English translation as contribution can be misleading, because in English that often sounds like a voluntary donation or something you give to a discussion.

Because Dutch nouns have two grammatical genders/categories for articles:

• de words
• het words

You simply have to learn each noun with its article:

• de contributie
• het tuincomplex

There is not always a reliable rule from meaning alone, though there are patterns. For example:

• many nouns ending in -ie are de words
  
  • de contributie
  • de politie
  • de energie

But tuincomplex must just be learned as a het word.

Tuincomplex is a compound noun:

• tuin = garden
• complex = complex, site, group of buildings/areas

So het tuincomplex means something like:

• the garden complex
• the allotment site
• the garden park

The exact translation depends on context. If this is about allotment gardens, it may refer to the whole area where the individual gardens are located.

Because hoog here is used predicatively, not directly before a noun.

Compare:

• De contributie is hoog.
  Here hoog comes after is, so it stays hoog.

But:

• de hoge contributie
  Here the adjective comes before the noun, so it usually gets -e.

The same applies to mooi:

• Het tuincomplex is mooi.
• het mooie tuincomplex

So:

• after zijn / is → usually no -e
• before a noun → often -e

Because after maar you normally start a new main clause, and Dutch main clauses keep normal word order:

• maar het tuincomplex is mooi

So the finite verb is again in second position:

• het tuincomplex | is | mooi

You would not invert the verb here unless something else came first, for example:

• Maar in de zomer is het tuincomplex mooi.

There, in de zomer comes first, so is must come before the subject.

Yes. A very natural alternative is:

• Hoewel de contributie hoog is, is het tuincomplex mooi.

This means essentially the same thing.

The difference is grammatical style:

• weliswaar ... maar uses two coordinated main clauses
• hoewel introduces a subordinate clause

That changes the word order:

• Hoewel de contributie hoog is
  In the subordinate clause, the verb is goes to the end.

Then the main clause follows:

• is het tuincomplex mooi
  Since the subordinate clause comes first, the main clause has inversion.

It is understandable and correct Dutch, but weliswaar sounds somewhat more formal or written than everyday speech.

In casual conversation, many speakers would more likely say:

• De contributie is best hoog, maar het tuincomplex is mooi.
• De contributie is wel hoog, maar het tuincomplex is mooi.
• Hoewel de contributie hoog is, is het tuincomplex mooi.

So the sentence is not unnatural, but weliswaar gives it a slightly formal tone.

Sometimes, but not always directly word-for-word.

In this sentence, the whole pattern weliswaar ... maar corresponds to English although or admittedly ... but. However, weliswaar by itself does not equal although in every situation.

A good practical rule is:

• weliswaar ... maar = admittedly ... but / although ... still

So it is better to translate the whole structure, not just the single word.

Usually the contrast would be stressed:

• De contributie is weliswaar hoog, maar het tuincomplex is mooi.

The voice often gives emphasis to:

• hoog
• maar
• mooi

That helps show the meaning: one point is negative, but the speaker balances it with a positive point.

If spoken naturally, weliswaar often sounds a bit lighter than the key contrast words.